Choosing an ERP, as we’ve discussed before, is not an easy undertaking. Previously, a blog entitled “6 Mistakes to Avoid When Implementing an ERP” was published. Today we’re going to look at the fifth mistake, which is failing to use real data to test your new system.
To recap: Enterprise resource planning (ERP) is a type of business management software that supports the basic internal processes of a company. It allows companies to use an integrated system to manage all the pieces of their operation. Product planning, development, manufacturing processes, inventory control, customer and vendor data, materials management, sales, and marketing are all examples of what an ERP system can control and streamline.
Mistake #5: Not testing real data
If an ERP consultant suggests inventing fake customers and vendors and/or creating fake inventory, run! Are you implementing an ERP system for better inventory control? For a more organized way of keeping track of your customer and vendor data? All of the above? Whatever the case may be, the only way to accurately test a new system is to run several days of the company’s real transactions through the system. Don’t invent fake customers, vendors, or inventories – real data, being used by real users, is the only way to see the real-world effects of the changes that will happen when the ERP implementation is complete.
Furthermore, any system can run with a handful of users – a set of test users, for example. What happens, however, when you load it up with 100% of your users, batch jobs, and database information? ERP systems are preset to handle a “typical” user load, but how do you know if your load is typical? There’s only one way to tell: testing. Best practice involves testing a full load of data and scripts along with all of your users.
A mock Go Live is a necessary part of your testing as well – you should have a Go Live dress rehearsal planned that simulates the real thing as much as possible. If the official Go Live is planned for a weekend, for example, the test run should also be on the weekend.
Testing may well be the make or break piece of your ERP system implementation process. All the other mistakes can delay the implementation and/or complicate it, but if you don’t test your data and rehearse your Go Live, your project could be derailed entirely.
So remember: Real data being used by real users in a real system is the only way to see the real-world implications of your ERP implementation finale. Your testing environment should not be a sandbox or a development area, your data should not be fabricated, and your customer/vendor information should not be fictional.
